#100healthydays: Week 1

Malavika, the effervescent RJ on City 101.6 started a revolution with her ‘100 Healthy Days’ Facebook page.

I interviewed her here in November, and she gave us insights into her ultra busy schedule, and how she still found time to give herself 100 days to transform into a healthier version of herself while making each step of this transition public.

2014 padded me with 5 extra kilos that are refusing to budge. When Malavika announced she is redoing ‘100 Healthy Days’ and recruiting 100 people to join her on this quest, I was quick to sign up!

‘100 Healthy Days’ is all about taking it one day at a time. Starting 1st Jan 2015, we need to log 1 healthy habit we did each day and hastag it to the social network:

You don’t have to be a recruit to join in. Going public with your daily ‘healthy’ lifestyle really is great motivation.

Here’s how I fared in the first 7 days of 2015:

Day 1: Sleep zzzz…

Was far too drained from bidding 2014 adieu, so spent most of the day sleeping in. Surely catching up with lost sleep counts?

Day 2: Jabal Al Jais road trip

At 1,934 meters Jabal Al Jais is the highest mountain range in the UAE.

It was a very spontaneous road trip, finalized within a call or two. Before we knew it, we were in the car heading for the mountains. Had I known the amount of walking we would be doing, I would have worn more appropriate shoes!

Day 3: Thali Overload

My hubby is a bad influence. He took me to the all-you-can-eat Maharaja Bhog joint.

Although the food is delicious, my guilty conscience took me for an hour-long jog in the evening.

Day 4: Office Muncher

I have a desk job. We work from 9 to 6. I do a lot of snacking on my desk, and this year I’ve loaded my jar with a self-made healthy mix. It’s a mix of zereshk (tart, dried Iranian barberries often found in Iranian dishes) and dehydrated Iranian mulberries.

You can also see my breakfast on the side… a tub of Jocca cottage cheese (200 calories of yummy dairy goodness) and a potassium-rich banana.

Day 5: Upping the H2O

See this army of water bottles? There are 5 in all. 500 ml each. I drank them all by the end of the office day, whoop!

All those trips to the loo must have counted to my calorie-burning too!

I also went for an hour-long walk/jog right after work. Treated my aching body to a long hot shower, and the Percup Massage Bar by Lush – you can win free bars here!

Day 6: Sweet Bribes

Once I’m home from work, my toddler sticks to me like a second skin. I was planning on an evening jog on Day 6, and finally had to resort to bribing her with this happy face to let me out:

See! Sugar ain’t all that bad.

Day 7: Lunch Swap

Ended up in the food-court for lunch today. Swamped with all the calorie-laden goodies, I decided to go for grilled kebabs. Swapped the fries that come on the side for a refreshing salad.

7 down, 93 days to go. So far I think #100healthydays has motivated me to reevaluate my everyday choices. In babysteps I hope to be a better, healthier me 93 days down the line.